


You Know

by overratedantihero



Category: Green Lantern (Comics), Justice League - All Media Types, The Flash (Comics)
Genre: First Date, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, awkward first date is awkward
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-11-06 06:39:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11030703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/overratedantihero/pseuds/overratedantihero
Summary: Hal and Barry are on a date, but Barry's feeling nervous.





	You Know

**Author's Note:**

> This is super messy, but I wanted to explore issues of internalized homophobia as a result of conservative upbringings + I can't resist teasing Hal over his aversion to Constantine.

Barry never struggled with his masculinity, but even he, in all his patience and understanding for others, still felt the tug of his culture and expectations when he least wanted. He grew up in the Midwest, where gender and sexuality were contentious at best. It only grew worse when his mother was murdered. The ensuing bullying and isolation didn’t leave much room for self-discovery. Years later he would eventually sort-of-kind-of come to terms with his sexuality, but he still wasn’t completely comfortable with dating.

Unlike Hal. Hal who grew up in a liberal city in California and Hal who was famously fearless. Hal who’d been the one to ask Barry to dinner in the first place (“Not like pizza-in-the-apartment bro dinner, Bar, I mean like actual dinner. Date dinner.”) Hal who was sitting across the candlelit table from Barry, sweating bullets and glancing anywhere but at Barry.

“Hal?” Barry prodded, leaning forward while Hal busied himself with a breadstick.

“Hm?” Hal asked, mouth full of breadstick, eyebrows quirked as if he has no idea what Barry just asked him.

“I said, You-Know-Who suggested we ask John to help us with you-know-what. I think it’s a good idea, at least while Zee isn’t available.” Barry watched a waiter walk by warily.

“John Stewart, sure, I love that guy. That dude. Great Green Lantern.” Hal swallowed. “But why are we talking work on a date?”

“Because I know you know I meant Constantine, and the fact that you’re avoiding any conversation about Constantine has me curious,” Barry murmurs. Barry knew he wasn’t abiding by good date etiquette, but teasing Hal and watching him squirm was actually calming Barry’s own nerves. Never mind that this wasn’t the first-time Barry had seen Hal panic over mention of Constantine. Barry _was_ genuinely curious.

Hal leans forward, glancing around nervously. “Listen, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, but Constantine is bad news. All he is, is cigarette smoke and shame. I had to actually wash my jacket the last time I— just, I think we should avoid calling him. The JL can deal without.”

Barry sipped his lemon water. The waiter swung by to assure them the food would be out soon, and Barry and Hal smiled and thanked him. When he left, Barry picked up the last breadstick and nibbled on the end.

“Did you and John Constantine… you know…?” Barry asked, voice quiet and mouth quirked up in a mischievous grin.

Hal narrowed his eyes. “Did me and Constantine what, Barry?”  

“You know,” Barry murmured. He glanced around the table as if someone else would be eavesdropping and Hal rolled his eyes.

“Yes,” Hal blurts finally, crossing his arms defensively. “Do not look at me like that Bartholomew. I clearly have a weakness for blond hair, and he’s stupid clever.”

Barry’s chuckled, and his smile was so bright that Hal eased up almost immediately. That is, until Barry murmured, “And here I thought you’d conquered the yellow impurity,” as he ran his fingers through his own blond hair.

“You. Are the worst,” Hal muttered, stealing a piece of the breadstick from Barry. “And for the record, ex-flings and the JL are not good date conversations. Those are good bro conversations. But we’re not doing a bro thing right now. We’re doing a grown-ass-men-on-a-date thing. So, no more shop talk.”

Barry’s cheeks flushed with the reminder. Barry didn’t go on dates often, he had to really, really know someone before even c _onsidering_ a date, but when he did date, Barry considered himself romantic. But this wasn’t any normal date. This was a date with Hal Jordan. His best friend. A man. A man that Barry was very attracted to, but Barry still had nervous energy in the form of electricity dancing up and down his bouncing leg.

“Bar. Bar, your leg is going to set the table cloth on fire,” Hal warned, craning his neck to watch the blur as it garnered electricity. Barry stilled his leg.

“Oops,” Barry said.

Hal opened his mouth as if to respond, but then the waiter was back with their food. Grateful for the excuse, Barry ate to avoid talking. Eventually, Hal set aside his fork and propped his temple on his hand.

“Barry, are you okay? Do you… do you want to be here?”

Barry nearly choked. “Yes!” he said, voice pitched. “I mean, yes,” he tried again, voice more level. Hal quirked an eyebrow so Barry continued, “It’s just you’re. You know. You. And my, uh, first. You know.”

“I think you think that I know a lot more than I know,” Hal murmured, picking up his fork again. “You can be honest with me, Bar. We’re still friends, even if we’re friends on a date right now.”

“I know,” Barry muttered, wincing at the overuse of the word. “But you’re my first… man. Not that I date much regardless, but yeah.” He ducked his head, staring at the food on the plate in front of him. In an act that was completely inappropriate for a restaurant setting, Hal poked Barry with his fork.

Barry looked up, blinked at him, and then laughed. It was an easy, bubbling laugh that relaxed the tension in his shoulder and reminded him that at the end of the evening this was still _Hal_. Inappropriate, obnoxious, stupidly attractive Hal.

“Alright, alright,” Barry murmured when Hal poked him again. “You’re supposed to be eating with that you know. I think you may have gotten food on my shirt.”

Satisfied, Hal pulled away and sat back in his seat. “I wouldn't complain if you end up having to lose the shirt,” he winked. 

“You’re absolutely shameless,” Barry muttered, ignoring his food to prop his chin in his hand and watch Hal. “No wonder you always get into so much trouble.”

"And there's no one I prefer getting into trouble with than you," Hal murmured. Barry could feel his stress melt away. "But don't tell Ollie I said that, he may find out that he's the other man and break up with me."  

" _Hal_!" 

It was hard to feel nervous around Hal for too long. 


End file.
